The Hidden Reason for Americans’ Shrinking Wealth (BusinessWeek)

By Allison Schrager July 29, 2014

Many Americans learned this weekend that they’ve gotten poorer. “The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less,” proclaimed the New York Times, citing a new study sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation (PDF). Median wealth declined more than 35 percent from 2001 to 2013, the study found, while wealth at the 95th percentile grew 14 percent. We can argue about whether America is entering its next Gilded Age, but these trends are important for another reason: They reveal how vulnerable the average American has become to the swings of one market in particular—housing.

Starting around 2001, American families put an increasing amount of their wealth in housing and took on more debt. This came at the expense of other kinds of investments, such as nonhousing wealth, which hasn’t returned to its 2001 peak. The figure below, from the Fed’s Survey of Consumer Finances, plots the median value of different kinds of assets owned by U.S. households:

The median real estate asset value (including primary residence and other property holdings) increased 38 percent with the housing bubble. At the same time, the median value of financial assets such as checking accounts, 401(k)s, stocks, and bonds dropped 9 percent from 2001 to 2007—a time when the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up more than 20 percent. The value of nonfinancial assets—cars, jewelry, business ownership—also fell by 18 percent.

STORY: A Father, a Daughter, and the Housing Market

As a result, real estate became a far bigger part of household wealth: Its value increased, and people bought more of it. The disproportionate investment is a big reason median wealth fell almost 40 percent when the housing bubble burst, and also a big reason we still haven’t fully recovered.

Meanwhile, leveraged households took on increasing amounts of debt. The figure below shows the ratio of home equity (value minus debt) to net worth and the ratio of debt to net worth for American households between the 25th and 75th percentiles of wealth.

Home equity increased, but debt increased even more. Overleveraged, underwater households are old news, but this trend is at the heart of the debate over widening wealth inequality.

STORY: Housing's 30-Percent-of-Income Rule Is Nearly Useless

Richer households have a much larger share of their portfolios invested in financial markets. (They also, by definition, have more money to invest, so it’s easier to spread it around.) Among the wealthiest 10 percent, a little less than half of their portfolios is invested in financial assets, compared with 35 percent in real estate. For the middle 50 percent of households, real estate made up 67 percent of their wealth even after the housing bubble—four times the proportion of financial assets. As financial markets have recovered, wealthy households have gotten wealthier; housing has recovered more slowly, leaving middle-income households lagging behind.

From a financial perspective, the average household is still overexposed to real estate. This has contributed to widening inequality, and Americans are still vulnerable to a single market. It helps that a house isn’t simply an investment—it’s a place to live, and there are benefits to homeownership that fluctuating home values don’t capture. Even so, few investment professionals would recommend concentrating so much wealth in a single, highly leveraged asset. No wonder American wealth still hasn’t recovered.

STORY: How a Zillow-Trulia Merger Could Finally Change the Business of Real Estate

Allison Schrager is an economist and writer in New York City. Follow her on Twitter: @AllisonSchrager.

En dos años se dispararon un 75% los precios de condominios en Downtown-Miami (Mercado de Dinero)

Los precios de condominios en el Downtown de Miami están a punto de su niveles previos a la recesión ya que los compradores de todo el mundo ven el mercado como un objetivo de inversión superior, según un nuevo estudio realizado por la Autoridad de Desarrollo del Downtown de Miami (DDA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Un estudio de la Autoridad de Desarrollo del Downtown de Miami revela más de 8,700 condominios a la venta ó en construcción en el núcleo urbano; se planifican otras 4,600 unidades para alquiler.

Los precios existentes (ciclo anterior) de las unidades de condominio en reventa en el downtown han aumentado 75% en los últimos dos años, superando un promedio de $230 por pie cuadrado a $400 por pie cuadrado. La mayor parte de esta apreciación puede ser atribuida a la recuperación de valor derivada de la estabilización del mercado y de la iniciación de proyectos nuevos desde el 2011.

En total, hubo 8,700 unidades de condominios a la venta ó en fase de desarrollo hasta junio del 2014. Se anticipa que la mayor parte de este inventario se entregue en el 2017, lo que indica que el mercado se encuentra en las primeras etapas de desarrollo en la mitad del ciclo. Los precios de pre-construcción en Q2-2014 continúan en $550 – $675 por pie cuadrado para el inventario actual sin vender.

El creciente atractivo residencial del downtown  también está impulsando la demanda de alquiler. Se han completado entre 400 y 450 contratos de arrendamiento mensualmente por los últimos tres años en el gran downtown, con un precio promedio aumentando de $2,198 por unidad en el 2011 a $2,429 al final del Q2-2014. Más de 4,600 nuevas unidades de alquiler multifamiliares están en construcción ó en proyecto, con la mayor parte del nuevo inventario anticipado en el submercado de Brickell.

El estudio, realizado por Integra Realty Resources (IRR, por sus siglas en inglés), evaluó 24 proyectos en curso, así como la oferta existente en seis submercados que comprenden del gran downtown de Miami: Brickell, el Distrito Central de Negocios (CBD, por sus siglas en inglés), Edgewater, el Distrito de las Artes y Entretenimiento,Wynwood y Midtown. Este informe es una continuación del estudio anterior del DDA de Miami centrado en inventario desde el último ciclo, que fue absorbida sustancialmente para el cierre del 2012. El nuevo estudio se concentra en los proyectos nuevos que se han puesto en marcha este ciclo hasta junio del 2014 y ofrece una proyección de futuras entregas.

“La demanda del comprador fuerte, precios en apreciación y el creciente atractivo entre los inquilinos siguen alimentando el mercado de condominios en el downtown de Miami”, explica Anthony M. Graziano, director administrativo general de Integra Realty Resources en Miami. “Aunque anticipamos aumento en los precions a disminuir a medida que pase el tiempo, el downtown se encuentra en condiciones de absorber el nuevo inventario de apartamentos actual en la fase de desarrollo si la tendencia de los compradores continua”.

Mientras que los submercados en todo el centro urbano de Miami están experimentando nuevos desarrollos, del barrio de Edgewater de la Ciudad – justo al norte de la CDB a lo largo del corredor de Biscayne Boulevard, es la zona del mercado en mayor crecimiento. Más de 1,900 unidades nuevas están actualmente en desarrollo, lo que representa un aumento del 67% en el inventario del submercado.

Nuevos proyectos en Brickell, donde más de 4,800 unidades se encuentran en construcción, representan casi el 25 por ciento de crecimiento en comparación con el inventario de condominio existente en el submercado. El recién llegado más grande es el Brickell City Centre, que incluirá 780 unidades de condominios ubicado en medio de 5.4 millones de pies cuadrados de desarrollo de uso mixto.

Otro proyecto de plan maestro, el Miami World Center, ofrecerá un total combinado de 2,000 unidades al lado de tiendas al por menor, hostelería y usos comerciales en el CDB. Cerca de allí, el All Aboard la nueva estación Central de Miami, servirá como una parada para el centro ferroviario de alta velocidad que conectará el Sur y Centro de la Florida.

El surgimiento de los nuevos desarrollos ha puesto mayor importancia en las propiedades desarrollables, causando que los precios de terreno alcancen niveles nunca antes visto en los últimos tres años. Se han completado transacciones de terrenos múltiples valorados en más de $100 millones ó están bajo contrato enBrickell, el CDB y Midtown, creando una barrera importante a la entrada para los contratistas residenciales.

La introducción del ‘Modelo de Financiación Sudamericana’, por el cual los contratistas colectan depósitos por valor de 50 por ciento ó más del precio de compra – junto con las fuentes de financiación que da preferencia a los contratistas con experiencia, bien capitalizados – debería ayudar a mantener un entorno de mercado saludable. “el costo elevado del terreno, el aumento de los costos de construcción, el aumento de la transparencia del mercado y el surgimiento de una nueva estructura de financiamiento en efectivo coloca un obstáculo para el grado de exceso de oferta que el downtown de Miami experimentó durante el último ciclo”, agregó Graziano.

Los compradores internacionales siguen dominando la base de compradores de la ciudad así como Miami surge como un destino global para los negocios y las finanzas, los viajes de ocio, las artes y la cultura. El estudio muestra que los compradores extranjeros representan aproximadamente el 90 por ciento de todas las ventas, por lo que Miami es uno de los pocos mercados de bienes y raíces en el mundo que disfrutan de la posición envidiable de ser una ‘economía de exportación”, lo que significa importación de los compradores de capital con el fin de ser propietario de bienes y raíces. “El desglose de los compradores extranjeros incluye 65% de sudamérica y entre el 20 y el 25 por ciento de Europa, Canadá, Asia y de otros lugares de América Latina. El 10 por ciento restante es un grupo comprador nacional”, dijo Graziano.

“El Downtown de Miami ha sido visto por mucho tiempo como un centro de negocios, pero estamos ganando rápidamente una reputación por nuestra oferta de estilo de vida, todo, desde el Cetro de Bellas Artes Adrienne Arsht y el Museo de Artes Pérez de Miami, a un número creciente de hoteles y restaurantes de alta gama y la incorporación de lujo al por menor”, dice Alyce Robertson, directora ejecutiva del DDA de Miami. “Los compradores extranjeros considerando bienes y raíces en los EE.UU. están descubriendo que el downtown de Miami cuenta con todas las comodidades de una gran ciudad cosmopolita, junto con precios competitivos y de fácil acceso a América Latina y Europa”.

The iPad Continues to Struggle, and a New iPhone Could Make It Worse (BusinessWeek)

By Joshua Brustein   July 22, 2014

Apple’s (AAPL) profit machine, the iPhone, has apparently been chugging away just fine for the last three months. Apple reported on Tuesday that it had sold 35.2 million iPhones, about what Wall Street expected, and turned a $7.7 billion net profit in the process. This counts as ho-hum for Apple, and the numbers really didn’t come as much of a surprise. We’re in the slow period of Apple’s calendar—before the new iPhones are released and after the excitement about the last generation has died down.

As a result, today’s earnings report is largely an exercise in looking for clues about whatever Apple is planning for this fall. The company doesn’t come out and say anything direct about its plans for new products (although executives did say they were excited!). What it does do is issue a forecast for next quarter, which goes through the end of September: revenue between $37 billion and $40 billion, slightly lower than analyst expectations compiled by Bloomberg. That seems to point away from an iPhone launch in September, since the new launches are always accompanied by spikes in sales.

Apple doesn’t seem to be pushing anything too far off, though. There are signs that it’s planning a pretty big party before the end of the year. On Tuesday morning theWall Street Journal reported that Apple is asking suppliers to prepare between 70 million and 80 million large-screen iPhones, a significantly bigger order than last’s year’s runup to the release of the iPhone 5S and 5C.

STORY: Apple Partners With the Company Formerly Known as Big Brother

Another positive sign: Apple is already selling more phones in greater China, less than a year after inking a deal with China Mobile (CHL), the world’s largest phone carrier. Baird Equity has been studying Chinese search results and says there is significantly more interest in iPhones this year than there was last year at this time. Searches don’t directly translate into sales, of course, but you can bet that Apple’s not complaining about Chinese customers obsessing over iPhone 6 rumors.

The Mac business is another bright spot. Apple sold 4.4 million Mac products, better than expected. The growth is particularly notable given that the overall PC market continues to shrink.

The bad news: iPads. Apple sold only 13.2 million new tablets, down from 14.6 million a year earlier. This comes on the heels of a disappointing quarter this spring. “IPad sales met our expectations, but we realize they didn’t meet many of yours,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told investors, blaming inventory issues and softness in the U.S. and European markets. He said that the most important thing to Apple was that iPad users were enjoying them and using them a lot.

STORY: Apple's Smartwatch Plans Coming Into View

In the call with investors, Cook focused on the enterprise market. Apple has a big proportion of that market, but Apple isn’t satisfied with how many businesses are adopting tablets. He says that a recent deal with IBM to create better enterprise apps will help speed that process up. “I just think we have to do some more things to get the business side of it moving in a faster trajectory,” he said. “I think we’re now onto something that can really do that.”

The overall tablet market has been shaky, and many people think it’s because smartphones with more powerful processors and bigger, better screens make them seem less necessary. Whenever Apple does release its new iPhones, they will likely be both bigger and more powerful than the iPhone 5S. That’s likely to be good news for Apple as it tries to claw market share back from Samsung. It could also be bad news for the iPad, as it tries to sell iPads to people with big phones in their pockets. But Apple has never been shy of cannibalizing its own products, so the iPad’s loss could be the company’s gain.

STORY: Five Retail Rules Flagrantly Violated by the Apple Store

Brustein is a writer for Businessweek.com in New York.

Photos: GE's FirstBuild launches industrial makerspace to advance co-creation (TechRepublic)

By Lyndsey Gilpin, July 24, 2014, 

Projecting your PC or mobile device with Miracast? (ZDNet)

How well does it work?

Summary: Miracast is a signature feature of Windows 8.1 and newer Android versions. In theory, it allows you to project a presentation or HD video wirelessly from your mobile device to a large screen. How well does it work in the real world?

By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report | July 24, 2014

Like so many modern computing experiences, Miracast is a great idea, implemented almost (but not quite) well enough to be used by mere mortals.

The Miracast standard, maintained by the Wi-Fi Alliance, is designed for mirroring a display and streaming high-definition content (with 5.1 surround sound) between mobile devices and large displays.

In theory, you can wirelessly stream the display from a Miracast-enabled phone or tablet to a Miracast-compatible receiver, such as a TV, with perfect fidelity. If the TV isn’t Miracast-ready, you can plug an adapter into a spare HDMI port.

Belkin Miracast adapter, plugged into HDMI input / photo credit: Belkin

After pairing the two devices, you can duplicate the display on your handheld device to a much larger screen, allowing you to wirelessly project a PowerPoint presentation to a conference room TV, watch a livestream in your living room, or cue up a music playlist for a party.

(As an aside: If this all sounds familiar, it’s because Apple’s AirPlay and Google’s ChromeCast offer similar features, without the noble promise of standards-based interoperability. AirPlay Mirroring works with Apple TV and iOS devices. ChromeCast does most of its magic through web apps that only run in the Google Chrome browser, and screen mirroring requires an Android 4.2 or later device.)

That’s the theory. In practice, based on my initial experience, I can tell you that Miracast is delightful when it works and maddening when something goes wrong.

Although the Miracast standard is relatively new, the technology behind it is well-tested, and there are an increasing number of compatible devices on the market. Popular adapters include the Netgear PTV3000 Push2TV Wireless Display Adapter, the Actiontec Screenbeam line, and Belkin's Miracast Video Adapter. Miracast support is also built into some TVs and Blu-ray players.

Last weekend, I spread out an assortment of tablets and smartphones, plugged a fresh-from-the-box Belkin Miracast Video Adapter into the nearly new 58-inch Panasonic TV in our living room, and asked my wife for her patience and forbearance as I tested different scenarios.

Setup

After plugging the Miracast adapter in to an empty HDMI input and connecting its power input to a USB port on the TV, I tinkered with the device briefly, just long enough to determine that it needed a firmware update. (As it turned out, there was a software update available for the TV as well.)

Updating the embedded code on the Belkin adapter required downloading a firmware file to a local PC and then powering up the device while holding down a button on the tiny HDMI dongle. That replaced the normal “Connect a device” screen with a setup screen on the TV.

Next, I had to use a web browser to connect to the device using its built-in Wi-Fi hotspot (normally hidden and visible only in setup mode) and navigate to a specific IP address to choose the firmware update, which was accompanied by this weird description.

The update hung on the first try but succeeded the second time around. After restarting, I noticed that the onscreen interface was noticeably cleaner and included specific instructions for Windows 8.1 and Android.

A Miracast receiver (in this case, my TV with the Miracast adapter) uses Wi-Fi Direct to turn itself into a special-purpose wireless hotspot. Connecting a Miracast-compatible device to that invisible hotspot allows the device to mirror or extend its display to the larger screen.

To connect a Windows 8.1 device to a Miracast receiver, you use the Project option on the Devices charm. The first time you encounter a Miracast adapter, you're prompted to add it. On subsequent visits, that device should be available as a target for the Project option.

Connecting an Android device involves searching for the equivalent command, which might be buried in the Settings menu or be controlled by an app.

After the connection is made, you can use the touchscreen on a mobile device such as a phone or tablet to control the output.

With that introduction out of the way, how did my assortment of devices fare?

ACTUALIZACION PROCESO ALIANZAS TRASATLANTICA Y TRANSPACIFICA (AP)

La falta de avances en la negociación comercial hace necesario más apoyo político

ALICIA GONZÁLEZ Madrid , EL PAIS  (AP)

Negociar un acuerdo de libre comercio nunca es fácil. Si lo hacen dos potencias comerciales como Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea, las dificultades crecen. Y si los apoyos políticos a la negociación flaquean, la negociación puede llegar a fracasar. No es el caso del Acuerdo Transatlántico para el Comercio y la Inversión (TTIP, por sus siglas en inglés) que negocian Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea. Todavía.

El Partido Republicano ya ha advertido que no aprobará ningún acuerdo comercial, empezando por el acuerdo de asociación con el Pacífico, que negocie la actual Administración de Estados Unidos si el presidente Barack Obama no hace más esfuerzos para lograr la Autoridad de Promoción Comercial (TPA por sus siglas en inglés), por la cual el Congreso solo puede aprobar o rechazar, sin enmiendas, un acuerdo comercial. “Dada la crítica importancia de la TPA para asegurar el éxito en las negociaciones del Acuerdo de Asociación Transpacífico, no apoyaremos este acuerdo si se completa antes de que apruebe la Autoridad Comercial”, advertían esta semana en una carta enviada por los congresistas republicanos del comité de Comercio al Alto Representante de Comercio de EE UU, Michael Froman.

En Europa, la negociación del TTIP fue uno de los primeros asuntos que discutió el nuevo Parlamento y el nuevo presidente de la Comisión Europea, Jean Claude Juncker, expresó su apoyo a la negociación pero advirtió que “no sacrificaré en el altar del libre comercio las normas europeas en los ámbitos de la salud, la seguridad o la protección social y de los datos ni nuestra diversidad cultural”, garantizó ante la Cámara.

La sexta ronda de negociaciones ha tenido lugar esta semana en Bruselas, con escasos avances concretos. Pero las delegaciones negociadoras mantienen el optimismo. “Estamos en un momento de transición importante en la negociación. La fase de preparación ya se ha acabado, en prácticamente todos los temas de negociación ya estamos empezando a trabajar sobre propuestas concretas. Ambas partes han puesto ya sus cartas sobre la mesa”, asegura Ignacio García-Bercero, el jefe de la delegación europea en las negociaciones. García- Bercero participó a principios de mes en un seminario sobre el acuerdo comercial en Santander y allí se reunió con EL PAÍS.

Europa pone el acento en el acceso a los contratos públicos 

Son todavía trabajos técnicos, “necesarios para preparar el campo para las decisiones políticas que se tendrán que tomar más adelante”, como explica el negociador, pero que ya afloran las dificultades de acuerdo. “Todo lo que se refiere a explorar las posibilidades de reconocimiento mutuo, equivalencias en sectores como el automóvil o el farmacéutico son temas complejos. Ahí hay que tener creatividad para ver cómo se puede establecer puentes para mejorar la cooperación reglamentaria sin pretender cambiar el enfoque de cada una de las partes”. Uno de los nudos gordianos de la negociación es el interés de los europeos en eliminar la discriminación en los concursos de obras públicas en Estados Unidos, lo que viene determinado por la legislación americana del Buy American, comprar productos americanos.

“No hay ningún tipo de exigencia en la legislación europea sobre que las compras públicas deban tener un cierto contenido de productos europeos. Ese tipo de legislación no existe en Europa, mientras que en EE UU para contratos públicos importantes, sobre todo en infraestructuras de transporte, existe un mandato de que cierto porcentaje de los contratos públicos debe ser de fabricación americana. Por eso damos mucha importancia a que esa discriminación no se mantenga y que, en definitiva, el Buy American se pueda convertir en un Compra Transatlántico, que puedas competir igualmente con productos europeos o americanos”.

La filtración de unos documentos de la negociación, en los que se abría la puerta a la gestión hospitalaria por parte de empresas estadounidenses, extremo negado por los negociadores europeos, ha forzado a los gobiernos a pronunciarse al respecto y a rechazar tal posibilidad.

“En principio, si hay servicios públicos prestados por empresas privadas normalmente esos servicios podrán ser prestados también por empresas americanas porque no hay discriminación. Pero la decisión de base, si se decide abrir o no un servicio a la competencia privada esa es una decisión soberana de cada Estado que no va a verse afectada por nuestros acuerdos transatlánticos porque en todos nuestros acuerdos de comercio hay unas reservas específicas al respecto. No es una decisión que pueda ser impuesta por el acuerdo, es una competencia nacional. Lo que hablamos respecto a las compras públicas no es tanto de hospitales o educación. Estamos hablando fundamentalmente del sector de las infraestructuras de aeropuertos, ferrocarriles, metro, que son grandes contratos donde las empresas españolas tienen una posición competitiva fuerte y donde actualmente las empresas solo pueden participar en una licitación si los materiales que utilizan son americanos”, explica García-Bercero.

“Los riesgos existen pero el compromiso político es fuerte”, dice García-Bercero

El acuerdo corre el riesgo de ser poco ambicioso, ya que Estados Unidos ha excluido al sector financiero de las materias de acuerdo, por cuestiones puramente políticas explican expertos del sector que no forman parte de las negociaciones. “No tenemos la más mínima intención de poner en tela de juicio la reglamentación americana sobre servicios financieros, la ley Dodd-Frank. Lo que nos parece lógico es que los reguladores de ambas partes tengan en cuenta lo que están haciendo los otros reguladores y que, por tanto, los reguladores estadounidenses y europeos se consulten en una etapa temprana del desarrollo de la reglamentación, examinen cuáles son las posibilidades de hacer reglamentaciones que sean compatibles o equivalentes y, si ese es el caso, que se llegue a algún tipo de reconocimiento de equivalencia”.

Los plazos para la negociación son muy ajustados. El objetivo es alcanzar un acuerdo para 2015 y una de las incógnitas para lograrlo es si el presidente Obama contará con la TPA, que dé garantías a la UE de que lo que se acuerde no será modificado por el Congreso de EE UU. “La fase actual de la negociación no es un problema que el presidente Obama carezca de la autoridad comercial porque hay mucho trabajo técnico aún por delante pero cuando haya que discutir los problemas políticamente más difíciles es muy difícil hacerlo si no tiene la garantía de que la otra parte lo que la administración acuerde no pueda ser modificado por el Congreso”.

Para los legisladores europeos es fundamental garantizar que las negociaciones no van a suponer una merma de derechos sociales y laborales ni de los estándares climáticos. El nuevo Parlamento cuenta con un mayor número de diputados que rechazan estas negociaciones pero los dos grupos mayoritarios de la Cámara, el Partido Popular Europeo y el Partido Socialista, han expresado su apoyo al acuerdo.

“Los riesgos de fracaso siempre existen. Pero creo que el compromiso político detrás de esta negociación es muy fuerte por ambas partes y son conscientes de que fracasar en este ámbito tendría un impacto muy negativo sobre la relación transatlántica. Estoy seguro de que se hará lo necesario para que la negociación llegue a buen puerto”.

Nissan: Expect Self-Parking Cars by 2016 (PCMagazine)

BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO    JULY 17, 2014

Nissan is gearing up to introduce vehicles that can park themselves and give you a break in traffic by 2016.

Parking in a tight spot and driving on crowded highways can be frustrating. But within a few years, Nissan cars will be able to do all the work for you.

The Japanese car maker is gearing up to introduce vehicles that can park themselves and give you a break in traffic by 2016, CEO Carlos Ghosn announcedWednesday during a press conference in Tokyo.

"By the end of 2016, Nissan will make available the next two technologies under its autonomous drive strategy," Ghosn said. "We are bringing to market a traffic-jam pilot, a technology enabling cars to drive autonomously — and safely — on congested highways. In the same timeframe, we will make fully automated parking systems available across a wide range of vehicles."

Two years later, the company plans to introduce vehicles that can change lanes and negotiate roadway hazards automatically. Before the end of the decade, Nissan vehicles will be able to handle intersections without your help.

Nissan's autonomous drive technologies are designed to enhance road safety and driving conditions by automating everyday tasks, Ghosn said. He cautioned, however, that truly self-driving cars, which don't require any human interaction, are still a ways off. With Nissan's new technologies, drivers will still remain in control and at the wheel.

Nissan first said it would explore self-driving car tech in Aug. 2013.

In May, Google showed off a self-driving car prototype that it created itself. The small, Volkswagen Bug-esque vehicle does not have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal, "because they don't need them," Google said. The company plans to build about 100 prototypes with manual controls, which it will test this summer. If that goes well, Google will launch a small pilot program in California in the next few years.

Besides Nissan and Google, a number of other car makers have autonomous vehicles in the works, including Audi, Mercedes, and Toyota.

ANGELA HAS BEEN A PCMAG REPORTER SINCE JANUARY 2012. PRIOR TO JOINING THE TEAM, SHE WORKED AS A REPORTER FOR SC MAGAZINE, COVERING EVERYTHING RELATED TO HACKERS AND COMPUTER SECURITY. ANGELA HAS ALSO WRITTEN FOR THE NORTHERN VALLEY SUBURBANITE IN NEW JERSEY, THE DOMINION POST IN WEST VIRGINIA, AND THE UNIONTOWN-HERALD STANDARD IN PENNSYLVANIA. SHE IS A GRADUATE OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY'S PERELY ISAAC REED SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM.

Five great apps for surviving travel (TechRepublic)

By Patrick Gray in Five Apps, July 16, 2014, 7:52 AM PST
If you spend a lot of time on the road -- or on the rails or in the sky -- these apps will help make your trips hassle-free. 
As a certified road warrior, with an average of 200+ days on the road each year, I have found several applications that make travel a little easier. These are a few of my favorites, all of which are available on iOS and Android smartphones, and in many cases, as web services or on other phone and tablet platforms.

1: TripIt (free or $49 for an annual TripIt Pro subscription)

TripIt (Figure A) is my go-to app for travel on a few fronts. The core functionality of the app is that it consolidates and organizes travel information. Forward the email confirmations from your airline, hotel, rental car provider, or even corporate travel agent, and TripIt creates an itinerary for the trip, complete with weather, directions, and confirmation numbers. You can also add viewers to your trips. In my case, my wife is automatically a viewer for all my trips, so she can quickly see where I'll be, which hotel I'm staying in, and where I'm going.

Figure A

The Pro service adds functionality like flight status and gate notifications, which are great when you land late and have to know which gate to sprint to. Pro also adds the ability to view seats and get recommendations, as well as search for alternate flights should your scheduled flight be cancelled.

2: iExit ($0.99)

If your travels take you to the roads more than the friendly skies, iExit is a must-have app for iOS and Android. While you're driving (and keeping your eyes on the road, of course), iExit will determine the road you're currently driving on and identify the services at upcoming exits (Figure B). You can also set a series of favorites, both by category and specific retailers. I've set my favorite dozen or so chain restaurants, and the app lets me quickly see the distance to each one.

Figure B

When your stomach starts growling, you can quickly see if it's worth forgoing the cheeseburger advertised at the next exit for a healthy option down the road -- or know that you're about to enter a stretch with limited food or gas options. As you'd expect, the app allows you to tap a provider to quickly call them, a helpful capability when searching for hotels or open venues when you're plying the roads late at night.

3: MetrO (free)

In major cities, train travel is often far more convenient and efficient than taxis or rental cars, yet local subway systems can be intimidating, especially in foreign countries. Despite a somewhat confusing interface, the MetrO app (iPhone/iPad) provides public transit directions in nearly every major city. You can quickly input starting and destination stations (or select the nearest station), and the app provides trains, number of stops between stations, and transfers (Figure C).

Figure C

In another boon for international travelers concerned about data roaming costs, as well as subterranean subway dwellers with a spotty signal, you can download cities to the app and perform all the routing without being connected to a mobile network.

4: GateGuru (free)

GateGuru (Figure D) is effectively the iExit for airports, letting you view the services available in most airports by terminal or service type. While most airports have maps showing available services, these maps are often difficult to find or don't show services in other terminals. GateGuru lets you view services and offers an occasional discount, like a free appetizer or percentage discount. The app also provides community reviews and ratings, allowing you to find a decent bite to eat and occasional discount when stranded at the airport.

Figure D

5: Yelp (free)

You have probably heard of Yelp (Figure E), the social-media restaurant rating service. While the fact that Yelp has a mobile app is likely nothing new, it is quite helpful for travelers looking for a bite in an unfamiliar location. Like all reviews that don't originate from a known, professional critic, Yelp's reviews must be taken with a grain of salt. My 5-star meal may be your barely passable 2-star, but Yelp seems to have the most extensive database of restaurants and corresponding reviews. It's fairly easy to search for a local restaurant in a given category, review a few well-rated choices, and then get directions using your smartphone's mapping app. I've found some real gems, and if nothing else am usually able to keep myself sated and away from chain restaurants while on the road.

Figure E

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Patrick Gray works for a global Fortune 500 consulting and IT services company and is the author of Breakthrough IT: Supercharging Organizational Value through Technology as well as the companion e-book The Breakthrough CIO's Companion. He has spent ...

Security Problems (Regions Security Newsletter)

1.- AT&T Suffers Data Breach

Dallas-based AT&T confirmed a data breach June 13.

Bill Hethcock Staff Writer-Dallas Business Journal

Attackers have compromised the personal information of an undisclosed number ofAT&T Mobility wireless customers, the Dallas-based telecommunications giant has confirmed.

AT&T confirmed the data breach June 13, saying outside attackers — allegedly employees of one of AT&T's service providers — stole personal information on AT&T Mobility customers. The company would not disclose the number of affected users.

“We recently learned that three employees of one of our vendors accessed some AT&T customer accounts without proper authorization,” according to a statement released by the company. “This is completely counter to the way we require our vendors to conduct business.

“We know our customers count on us and those who support our business to act with integrity and trust, and we take that very seriously. We have taken steps to help prevent this from happening again, notified affected customers and reported this matter to law enforcement.”

The breach was discovered May 19, and AT&T believes the data was accessed in an attempt to unlock phones for secondary market resale, the publication CSO reported.

AT&T Mobility filed a breach notification in California this week, CSO reported. From April 9-21, one of AT&T’s third-party providers violated the company's security and privacy guidelines and was accessing customer data.

AT&T says in the notification that the stolen information includes Social Security numbers and call records.

Bill covers health care, telecom, law and education. Subscribe to our email newsletters.

2. FBI Task Force Arrest 8 Cyber Suspects in South Florida

Shaun Bevan Digital Producer-South Florida Business Journal

A new FBI task force aimed at capturing personal identity thieves, credit card counterfeiters and scammers have arrested eight cyber crimes suspects in South Florida and Atlanta.

On Tuesday, agents with the FBI's task force arrested six people, most of whom work at AT&T call centers in Broward County. They are accused of stealing customers' IDs and account information from corporate databases to commit cellphone insurance fraud, according to theMiami Herald.

Those arrested in two related cases are:Kenneth Key, 32, of Pompano Beach;Jonathan Mackey, 23, of Fort Lauderdale;Quenikka Brown, 28, of Atlanta; Kaleb Trotman, 25, of Pompano Beach; Tsafiq Samuels, 24, of Miramar; and Tanya Morgan, 27, of Miami Gardens.

According to a pair of indictments, five former AT&T call center workers are charged with conspiring to sell the stolen customer information to co-conspirators, including Trotman. He and others allegedly used the information to impersonate AT&T customers and submit fraudulent cellphone insurance claims.

In a third case, Richard Garcia Diaz, 50, of Hialeah, is charged with stealing thousands of cable boxes and modems and then illegally modifying them to receive free service. And finally, in a fourth case, Ricardo Prieto, 49, of Miami, was charged with selling and using counterfeit credit cards.